From Micro to Macro: The Scale of Conflict in This Week’s New Movies

This week’s new streaming films offer a fascinating study in the scale of conflict. From a deeply personal, one-on-one struggle to a battle with global implications, these five movies explore conflict at every level.
The conflict in The Surfer (Hulu, today) is purely micro. It is an intensely personal, localized battle between one man and a small group of antagonists. The fate of the world is not at stake; what hangs in the balance is one man’s sanity and dignity, which makes the struggle feel incredibly intimate and raw.
All of You (Apple TV+, tomorrow) also operates on a micro scale. The conflict is internal and relational, centered entirely on the unspoken feelings between two people. The stakes are the future of their personal relationship, a small-scale drama with massive emotional weight.
Karate Kid: Legends (Netflix, Saturday) scales up slightly to a community level. The conflict of the karate tournament has stakes that affect a local family’s business and a young man’s place within his new community. It’s a story about how individual actions can have a larger, communal impact.
The scale in Ballerina (Starz, today) is significantly larger. The protagonist is fighting against a vast, international criminal organization. While her motivation is personal, her battle is with a macro-level syndicate, a secret society that operates on a global scale.
Finally, M3GAN 2.0 (Peacock) presents the most macro-level conflict. The antagonist is a military-grade android, and her escape poses a threat that could have global consequences. The battle between M3GAN and AMELIA is not just personal; it’s a fight to prevent a potential worldwide disaster.